RESEARCH|Community

SPACES THATWORKSPACES THAT WORK

A workplace research publication that translates global trends and design philosophy into practical strategies for flexible, collaborative and human-centred offices.

Sector • PracticeCommunity / Architecture

Publication date:2013

Author:NBRS Team

Reviewed by:Andrew Duffin

Insight

The way people work is changing quickly. Generational shifts favour empowerment over supervision and social connection over hierarchy. Technology has untethered teams from fixed desks. Culture is increasingly collaborative, which means the “one person, one workstation” grid is often under-utilised. Spaces That Work maps these forces and sets out a practical response: multi-modal, adaptable environments that support focusing, collaborating, learning and socialising, with furniture, colour and proportion used as deliberate tools for behaviour and wellbeing.

Key take-aways

Global trends to design for
Generational change points toward empowerment, purpose and social connection. Technology enables anywhere work and rapid communication. Highly collaborative cultures require a greater mix of shared and transitional settings.

Activity Based Working and choice
ABW increases adaptability and mobility and can reduce floorspace while improving service, transparency and decision-making. Choice of setting becomes a core productivity tool rather than an amenity extra.

Unimposed space and comfort
Give users control over their environment. Choice, territoriality and comfort correlate with productivity. Environments should invite play and discovery as well as deep focus.

Working modes, clearly supported
Design for a spectrum of modes from quiet concentration to co-creation. The environment should cue the intended mode through layout, acoustics and visual affordances.

Flexible and adaptable delivery
Support churn and spontaneity with hardware (flexible planning), software (responsive settings), portable tech and high-quality connectivity. Reconfigurable furniture lets teams shape space to task.

Proportion creates nodes
Ceiling height, volume and enclosure can signal social energy or focus. Varying proportions generate “come together,” “time for two,” team spaces, private settings and down-time areas.

Furniture forms modes
Furniture selection and placement indicate levels of collaboration and help embed workplace values. Use elastic, mobile and multi-use pieces to make change easy.

Colour encourages creativity
Consider the physiological effects of colour. Use palettes to inspire, calm, provide contrast or reduce visual fatigue from screens.

Case study: MUSE at Macquarie University
A layered “Bassline” of spaces enables private study, time-for-two, project zones, team areas, come-together settings and outdoor extensions, demonstrating connection and choice in practice.

AT A GLANCE

Purpose: translate emerging workplace trends into spatial strategies that improve engagement and productivity.

Results and implications

Offices that replace a uniform desk grid with a spectrum of clearly signposted settings achieve higher utilisation and support both focus and collaboration. When users can control their environment and move easily between modes, engagement rises. Proportion, furniture and colour are inexpensive levers that can make spaces work harder without major reconstruction, while ABW provides a scalable operating model for future change.